Wasn't this whole thing Mitt Romney's idea? Uh... I might remind you, GOVERNER OF MASSACHUSETTS Or do you guys forget who your ridiculous Massachusetts flip-flopper abortion-loving, gay marriage supporting, socialized medicine-enacting, front-runner is???????

No Ryan, a lot of people have *not* forgotten that fact. It weighs heavily against Romney as a presidential candidate in my mind.

But since you think it's critical to note the former governor's political party, how about mentioning the legislative makeup that passed this fiasco?

Short answer, Ryan:

No.

Longer answer:

It was the Democratic leadership that pushed like hell for this. Romney saw the way it was heading and figured if he couldn't beat it, he'd join it. He got a few minor concessions, but mainly he was riding the tiger on that deal.

Despite what he says now.

Remember, this was passed by a legislature that was 85% Democratic. One out of five Democrats could stay home, and they could STILL override any of his vetoes.

J.

Although Ryan is pretending that Mass doesn't 85% Democrat control of the legislate, making Romney somewhat moot on policy, he does raise a good point.

The false belief that the failure of the government funded/mandated medical systems around the world lay somehow in botch implementation. And somehow if we get the right people to run it, government funded/mandated medical systems will work.

The systems was doomed from the beginning. The cracks have to form somewhere and if these cracks are patched, the cracks will just develop somewhere else.

While many conservatives point to Europe's government funded health care as "not all it's cracked up to be" and say "why do we want to make the same mistake?" many liberals respond with, "We'll be able to do it better."

Well, here's the big chance to prove that on a small scale before we go all gangbusters and mandate it federally.

So far it's not so pretty is it?

Hmmm...doctors opting out of a system that will force them to accept patients who don't care about themselves and be forced to accept payments for said services which won't even cover their expenses and then force them to be audited every couple of years to assure that they aren't overutilizing services?

Who wouldn't want that?

Why would that bother them? They already have a form of price controls from insurance companies. Insurance companies are the ones that determine pricing, not the doctors.

Local authorities tend to put even the worst offenders with serious health problems on probation or house confinement so they DON't have to pay for the meds and health care of convicts. So only the healthy folks who refuse to buy health insurance will remain behind bars. Ironic, huh?

"Secondly, some doctors are deciding to opt out of the whole idea and move out of state."
In Great Britain, in the 1970s, doctors did the same thing essentially. They left. They packed their bags and moved - to South Afica, Austrailia, New Zealand (the three favorite destinations chosen at the time by MDs leaving the UK.) And the secondary effect is new MDs coming from within the educational system. UK Medical Schools are screaming for qualified applicants - in a nation where the education is essentially free. Doctors are recruited from outside the UK - India and Pakistan are favorite recruiting areas. And if you think that won't happen here - wanna bet?

Tnanks for the mention, Jay. There was an interesting article from a pediatrician in Quincey, MA, in this week's New England Journal of Medicine that was written more relating to "quality" measures that are being implemented, but the comments can just as easily be applied to the "universal" healthcare that Mass. is implementing.

I can't help suspecting that underneath all these ... initiatives lies yet another scheme that will work out very well for insurers [and the government nanny types] and very badly for providers and patients...

Meanwhile, US doctors today have less and less to say about the care of their patients... Maybe I overestimate the next generation, but I can't imagine that young, creative people who are bright and talented enough to get into medical school will put up with this nonsense for very long.

Me neither.

Gee, where is Ryan now? lol.

Darn html tags. The third paragraph should be italicized also.

I'm only trying to point out that the way Romney is posturing himself these days is completely ridiculous. If it ends up being enough to win the R-nomination, it will be laid bare in the general. You don't just get to wake up one morning and completely change your whole identity just to pander to a politcal party.

"You don't just get to wake up one morning and completely change your whole identity just to pander to a politcal party."

Google Bill Clinton. It worked.

"Google Bill Clinton. It worked." What the hell are you even talking about? Okay, I'll admit, I was twelve when Bill Clinton was elected president, so I don't have a strong memory of the whole Democratic primary process in '92, but I doubt it was anything like what Mitt Romney is trying to do this year.

Imagine them and manditory pitlin shots for your kids its big brother comming ino your home with a syringe and shooting your kid full of some bad potion